The Vice President of the Republic of Somaliland, His Excellency Abdirahman Ismail Zeyli’i, today, addressing participants at the General Assembly of the Somaliland Non-State Actors Forum (SONSAF) convened at the Ambassador Hotel, Hargeisa, underlined the importance of transparency and accountability applied to all aspects of state and non-state actors’ activit
ies.
“That SONSAF focuses on, leads by example on how crucial it is to effectively apply transparency and accountability to both state and non-state affairs can start a new, bore acceptable culture in Somaliland,” he said.
“Given that such a culture takes root in our society, eliminated by default”, he said ‘will be tribalism, nepotism and the rest of debilitating habits of backwardness”.
Jamal Ali Hussein, UCID party’s candidate for the Presidency in the upcoming elections, expressed his delight in the participation of a convention of the calibre that attended Wednesday’s GA.
Mr. Jamal, speaking on what he expected of a Forum of this stature said “I do hope that SONSAF BOD becomes more active, more vocal 
on building the technical and operational capacities of its members in order for them to acquire the necessary skills for fundraising and for impeccable implementation of all activities they initiate or is entrusted to them”.
He hoped that SONSAF developed the necessary metrics for eligibility to membership, funding and for participation in nationally exigent campaigns and activities such as those relating to the further enhancement of the on-going democratization process.
Dr. Mohamed Osman Fadal, Secretary for External Affairs for WADDANI opposition party, pointed out that development is best positioned in the hands of smaller, upcoming societies and countries such as Somaliland.
“Look at Rwanda. Look at Seychelles,” he said. “Like Somaliland, both of these countries are small, have appetites for upward swinging development and, as such, best positioned to embrace requisite factors,” he said.
Dr. Fadal stated that the Republic of Somaliland had all the indicators for development in place based on an exemplary record for peace-building and conflict management.
Dr. Fadal hoped that Somaliland maintained its course on democracy and plurality.
The Executive Director of SONSAF, Mr. Mohamed Ahmed “Barawani” and Abdirahman M of the organizations’ Finance department took participants through a tour of well-put together presentations that summed the organization’s challenges and achievements in all of its financial and operational responsibilities during the past two years.
Judy McCallum, Head of Saferworld’s Horn of Africa programs wished the GA success, expressing her confidence that the meeting will be crowned by success observing how SONSAF conducted this and previous GAs.
Ms McCallum stayed throughout the course of the meeting which ended by electing a new Board of Directors.
Present at the opening occasion of the General Assembly, too, were the Minister for Coordination of National Councils, H.E. Ali Hamud, and the RoS Police Commissioner, Brigadier Abdullahi Fadal Eiman.
A panel of five members that Mohamed Ahmed Jama “Alolei” headed moderated the proceedings until the new BOD was fully elected in the late afternoon.
The roster of the new two-year term seventeen-member BOD are as follows:
- Mustafa Sa’ad Dhimbil, Chairperson
- Amina F Arshe, Vice Chairperson
- Mohamed S Hersi, General Secretary
- Nafisa Yussuf Mohamed
- Prof. Hassan Mohamed Jama “Heiss”
- Hassan Bulbul
- Anwar M Warsame
- Fahma Essa Yussuf
- Faisa Aw Ali
- Chief Mohamed Ali Dallin
- Sheikh Mohamed Abdullahi Omar
- Abdiwahab Maah Muhumad
- Dr. Ahmed Hashi
- Mustafa Mohamed Dahir
- Eng. Hussein Buuri
- Mustafe Abdullahi Fumbe
- Ahmed Abdi Ismail
SONSAF on is based on a five-sector membership comprising the private sector, professional associations, civil society, elders and religious scholars. Five members come from each of the private, civil society and professional associations where one member each comes from the latter two areas.
The private sector, for example, was represented by giant by-names such as Dahabshiil, the leading money transfer company in the Horn of Africa, represented by Professor Heiss. Well represented at the meeting were, also, cooperatives of various natures, the Chamber of Commerce, import/export establishments and telecommunication companies such as Telesom which, like Dahabshiil, made it to the BOD again.
SONSAF, since inception in 2008, forged an enviable reputation for itself and for Somaliland by contributing, spearheading and/or supervising policy dialogues, democratization exercises, peace building and conflict resolution activities and for positively portraying the Republic of Somaliland to itself and to the international community.
